JAL, JAXA, and OWEL announced the world’s first application of a rivulet-shaped (shark skin-like) coating to a large portion of the fuselage of a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
This is the first time in the world that an aircraft with a rivulet-shaped coating is operated on an international flight. The aircraft is scheduled to enter service in mid-January.
JAL, JAXA, and OWELL have been promoting the decarbonization of aircraft, and as part of this effort, OWELL has been applying a ribbed paint film to the outer fuselage panels using a technology (Paint-to-Paint Method) that it has been improving, and verifying its durability and fuel efficiency improvement effects.
The Paint-to-Paint Method allows the riblet shape to be applied directly to the paint film, thus reducing weight and improving durability compared to decals or films. The Paint-to-Paint Method is said to reduce weight and improve durability compared to the riblet process using decals or films.
JAXA’s wind tunnel tests and numerical analysis confirmed the drag reduction effect on international aircraft (equivalent to Boeing 787-9), and OWELL’s development of a rivulet coating system that can handle larger aircrafts led to the decision to expand the area of the coating to the upper fuselage of international aircraft for further verification. The company expects to see further fuel efficiency improvements on international flights over longer distances.
The newly constructed aircraft will have a drag reduction rate of 0.24% during cruise. This is expected to reduce fuel consumption by approximately 119 tons and CO2 emissions by approximately 381 tons per year, equivalent to the annual CO2 absorption of approximately 27,000 cedar trees.
© Source travel watch
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